MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team defeated Cornell College 98-60 at the Small Sport Center on Friday evening. The Kohawks outscored the Rams 53-31 in the opening 20 minutes of the contest and saw out the game in the second half. With the victory, Coe improves to 4-3 overall while Cornell drops to 2-3 on the year. 
 
Cael Schmitt and Sam Auen led the Kohawks with 16 points each as Schmitt added four steals, two assists and one rebound. Jarad Kruse posted 14 points in his first action back from injury, shooting 6-of-7 from the floor. Greg Hall reached the double-figure mark, scoring 10 points while adding two rebounds. Overall, 12 Kohawks recorded points in the game as the squad shot 68.3 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from downtown. 
 
Coe began the game on top, scoring six of the opening eight points of the half but Cornell hung tough and got within two points after a short outburst. The Kohawks then took control of the contest, ripping off a 13-7 spurt over the next few minutes to take a 19-11 lead with 12:17 left in the first. Cornell refused to go away, despite the offensive production from Coe as the Rams cut the lead to five with just under four minutes to play. The Kohawks responded back to end the frame, scoring the final 17 points of the half to take complete control of the game at the break, 53-31.
 
The Kohawks were again hot to start the second half, extending their lead past thirty points early on in the frame thanks to 3s from Kruse and Ray Thrapp. Coe continued to keep Cornell at arms length for the remaining minutes of the second half as Coach Martin turned to his reserves to see out the victory. 
 
Up next: Coe will kick-off its season on Sunday evening when it hosts Central College at 5:30 p.m. at Kohawk Arena. 
 
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